Book III of The Protector
by Anmras
Summary: Legolas is deathly ill and his chances of survival are not looking good. Who are the people who are trying to save him, and will they succeed to bring the Mirkwood Prince back to good health?
1. Chapter 7

This book hardly has any action and there's a few funny points, but don't worry! You'll get a eighteen truckloads and a picnic basket full of action later on!  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Legolas's head felt incredibly heavy. He couldn't even list it nor his arms and legs. He tried to sit up using only his abdomen muscles, but the man hurried over and gently pressed him back against the mattress.  
  
'Stay down.' The man said simply. Legolas grit his teeth as a flare of pain tore up his legs and arms. It soon faded and he was sweating although he felt cold all over.  
  
'What happened?' he said is a harsh raspy voice. He wanted to cough it out, but knew that the pain would be immeasurable.  
  
'Me and my son found you at the edge of a pond in the forest, barely alive. Your horse was the only thing keeping you breathing. Lying next to you like that, it was somewhat touching. Anyway, my wife and I carried you to our home at the edge of the forest in our cart and have been taking care of you for the past four days and three nights. We thought you were gone for good, you had quite an intense fever that kept us on our toes. Not to mention the horrible fever-dreams you had about someone and their baby burning to death.' Legolas stared at the ceiling. He didn't remember that. 'Fortunately, there was no permanent harm done. You ought to thank your lucky stars m'boy.'  
  
'Where's my horse? And my things?' the man nodded.  
  
'All your belongings are in the living room, dry and safe. Your horse has been housed in our stables, but the poor thing stopped eating yesterday. Worrying about you I figure. I'm sure he'll be okay soon.' Legolas found himself breathing hard as another unexpected flare of pain coursed through his body.  
  
'C-could I get another blanket please?' he shivered with a crack in his voice. The man nodded and laid another thick blanket over him. The man continued talking, but Legolas couldn't hear him. His heart started pounding a mile a minute and pulsed in his ears. His chest tightened and he shut his eyes tightly. He started trembling uncontrollably, shaking the bed and shocking the man. He called for the elf, but got no response.  
  
'What's happening?' cried his wife as she came in. The man shrugged.  
  
'I-I don't know! He just started shaking wildly while I was asking him his name!' he cried.  
  
'You have to go.' She demanded as she began to take the blankets off. He stared at her in shock. 'Go! Make sure the kids don't come in!' the man nodded and headed out of the room as the final blanket was lifted off.  
  
Legolas's chest was a bright red blotched with white. It was trembling so violently it was almost a blur. She touched his left breast to make sure his heart was still beating.  
  
It was, but very weakly. She started breathing air in through his mouth. She had to get him under control somehow.  
  
'Mommy! Mommy! What's going on?' she heard the scream of her little boy on the other side of the door but had to ignore it. She continued the supply of air.  
  
Finally, after she was out of breath and growing weak from her efforts, the elf stopped shaking. He didn't open his eyes, but was breathing normally and had a heartbeat, yet it was still weak. Satisfied that he would be all right for the next few minutes, she went outside to her daughters and son who were next to weeping.  
  
'He's very sick.' She told them. 'I don't want you in there until mommy says he'll be all right, okay?' she hugged her youngest, her son, gingerly.  
  
'Is he going to die?' asked her oldest daughter. She couldn't find any words to comfort her child, so she hugged her as well.  
  
'You should all get to bed.' She said to them. 'I'll watch over him in the night and make sure he'll be comfortable.' The children nodded and headed off to bed.  
  
The woman locked eyes with her husband. The embraced each other tightly and wept.  
  
'I don't want to see another die, Redd.' She whimpered in his blonde hair.  
  
'He won't die.' Replied the man. 'We can save him. It's not too late.'  
  
'But... I don't know if I can.' The man finally pulled out of the embrace and looked at her.  
  
'Fallon, I believe you can.' He whispered. After a moment, she nodded.  
  
'Okay.' She said, and they both headed into the room together.  
  
.  
  
Sorry for the terribly short chapter, guys! Oh, what's that? A cliffhanger? Nah! It can't be!  
  
Anyway, I also want to tell you that I may need some songs for future chapters, so tell me what songs you want to hear and the artist and I might be able to fit them into the story. 


	2. Chapter 8

@Deana - You think Legolas is suffering now... just wait until Book V!  
  
This chapter is longer then most of the others. I think it's rather happy- ish compared to the ones from before!  
  
Chapter 8  
  
For the rest of the night and all the next day, Redd and Fallon were constantly attending to Legolas. They were forced to strap him down to keep him from falling off the bed during his ugly seizures. When his fever went up, they took off his blanket and placed a cold compress on his forehead. When he started a chill, the added more blankets or changed his sweat- drenched clothing that they dried over the fire.  
  
Legolas's face was pale until midnight when the color began to return, slowly but surely. There were several frightening moments when his lips would turn blue from the chills and there was nothing more they could do to warm him up. Fallon found it hard to remember the night since she and her husband were already near exhaustion. However, she fell asleep by the fire dirty and overworked.  
  
Redd woke her the next afternoon. She said she was rested, but that wasn't enough to convince her spouse.  
  
'He should be okay for awhile, and I want to talk to the children. Can you watch him?' Fallon smiled and nodded.  
  
Redd went into the living room to see his children barely awake on the sheep skin on the floor. His son immediately stood up with a thin blanket clutched tightly to his chest.  
  
'Is he all right father?' he asked in earnest. 'Is he going to be okay?' Redd took his son and two daughters under his arm and held them close.  
  
'We still don't know for sure if he's going to live, but he's looking a lot better then last night.'  
  
'Who is he?' one of his daughters asked.  
  
'We don't know yet, but we'll find out soon. He's still very sick, so we need you kids to go feed the animals and get the firewood from the woods. Can you do that, son?' the boy nodded and the three children left.  
  
'Honey?' asked Fallon who peaked around the door. Her eyes snapped brightly with excitement. 'He's awake.' Redd rushed into the room to see Legolas smiling at him.  
  
'And you are Redd, am I right?' he asked. Redd smiled and nodded back. Legolas felt thoroughly exhausted but the flares of pain were no longer coursing through his body and the harsh earthquakes had finally stopped. He could barely even lift his head he was so tired.  
  
'How are you feeling?' he asked as his eyes glittered with hope.  
  
'I think I'll survive.' said Legolas.  
  
'If you don't mind, sir,' said Redd. 'But I have not learned yet your name.'  
  
'I am Legolas, from Mirkwood.' he said. Redd's eyes widened.  
  
'The... the Mirkwood prince?' Legolas motioned for Redd to come closer. Redd obeyed and leaned close to the elf's pointed ear.  
  
'Nobody can know that I am here.' he whispered. 'Call me Fermanir if you must use a name. Don't tell anyone that I was here. I will explain later.' with that, the prince drifted off and fell asleep. Redd stood straight, dazed.  
  
'We have to nurse him back to health, Redd.' said Fallon. 'He can't even hold his head up.'  
  
'Fallon, you need rest. We all do.' replied Redd. 'I'll stay with him for awhile and make sure he is all right.' Fallon protested but was soon defeated by Redd's insistence.  
  
Redd rested for awhile against Legolas's bed. Legolas dozed off and rested peacefully for the first time in days. Redd couldn't help but smile. They had won the battle against the disease that thwarted the elf. He felt a warm wave of satisfaction and self-praise wash over him before his eyes drifted closed.  
  
*  
  
When Redd awoke he was lying in a bed. At first, he didn't know what had happened or how he got there. Piece by piece he remembered the elf in the woods and the fight for his survival. He heaved his torso out of bed and ran his fingers through his mass of blonde hair.  
  
'Father!' Redd looked to the doorway of his room to see his younger daughter run and leap on him.  
  
'You've been sleeping for almost two days!' she exclaimed as she huddled in his lap. 'The snow is up to my knees and Legolas has been playing with us since you were sleeping!' here eyes were bright with fascination and happiness. Redd smiled.  
  
'Has he now?' he asked. He wasn't surprised that Legolas had recovered his strength faster then him. He was, after all, an elf. 'And where is he? Have you tired him out all over again?'  
  
'No!' she laughed her high-pitched laugh. 'He's outside playing with Gabrielle and Rye!' Redd smiled and set her down on the floor.  
  
'Want to come make me breakfast, Hanna?' he asked. His daughter smiled and nodded and they went to eat.  
  
Redd ate a meal of hot porridge and fresh goat milk alone at the table while Hanna went back outside to play. He caught a glimpse of his children bolting by the window, but hadn't seen Legolas at all. He could hear the excited shrieks of Rye and the melodic laughing of Hanna and Gabrielle. Soon, Fallon came in and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
'He's fully recovered, I think.' she said while massaging his shoulders and chest. 'So we ought to talk to him.' Redd nodded.  
  
'Yeah. I'm really curious about his reason for being here and needing a different name.' he quickly downed the rest of his milk and placed his dishes in a large empty bin where they would wash themselves along with the dishes. He then went outside to see Legolas chase his children past the swine pen. The prince's face was alit with enjoyment. His smile was bright and his eyes twinkling.  
  
'Gabrielle!' called Redd. All his offspring and Legolas stopped their game and watched him. 'I believe it's time for you kids to do your chores!'  
  
'Aw, Father!' complained Rye, who fell in the snow pretending to be exhausted.  
  
'Don't complain young man! Get to work.' the children scattered quickly. Legolas watched Redd, waiting for something. 'Come inside, Legolas.' he said. Legolas obeyed silently, the smile fading from his face.  
  
Legolas was definitely feeling better. He managed to walk through the porch to the kitchen without the floor creaking or the fur on the rug to be pressed down. Redd motioned for him to sit at the table. Again, Legolas followed the request. Redd crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe while Fallon sat down across from Legolas.  
  
'You said earlier, that you wanted to be called Fermanir and that nobody could know that you were here.' Legolas nodded he could remember telling them that when he was feeling sick. 'Could you explain to us now why you want your being here to be secret?' Legolas sighed and nodded. These people has saved his life, they earned the truth from him.  
  
He then told them the whole story, leaving out the pregnancy of Elenest. Nobody knew about that yet. Not even his father. He had planned to tell him after the ball, but plans had changed.  
  
Redd and Fallon were silent when he had finished.  
  
'But I didn't do it.' he said. 'I explained to you what happened and I'm telling you I'm innocent!' he found himself yelling and standing up from the table. Fallon's eyes were alit with surprise.  
  
'Legolas, we believe you!' insisted Redd. 'We really do! We need to talk about the situation before we decide what to do though.' Legolas sighed and clenched his fists. Fallon and Redd left the room and Legolas could hear what they were saying very clearly. The house wasn't large and the walls were thin and packed with mud. Legolas could even hear the mice scuttling around in the attack a floor above him.  
  
'We can't just send him out into Rohan. He won't stand a chance.'  
  
'But if we let him stay here, the elves of Mirkwood won't spare us if we help him!' argued Fallon. 'What about Gabrielle, Hanna and Rye? Don't you care about their safety?' at that, Legolas felt like running from the farm right then and there. He had played with the children all day and quickly grew to love them like they were his own. The last thing he wanted were the palace search parties to murder them. He stared at the ground, ashamed that he had put these people in so much danger even after they had saved him.  
  
Without warning, Redd and Fallon came back into the room. He must have missed the rest of the conversation. Fallon's eyes seemed to be sparkling with some kind of excitement.  
  
'We can't let you stay here long, Legolas.' said Redd. 'But we won't send you off without our help.' Legolas smiled, appreciating their concern.  
  
'Thank you,' he said, standing up. 'But if the Mirkwood elves find out I'm here, and that you saved me, they won't spare any of you. I'll just leave now.'  
  
'Oh now you don't!' said Fallon. 'If you leave now, all clean and pretty, they'll know who you are on the spot. The gangs will take you and ask a ransom from the Mirkwood kingdom.'  
  
'If anyone else finds out who you really are, you won't stand a chance.' said Redd approaching Legolas and placing a hand on his shoulder. 'We'll have to disguise you before you go anywhere!' Legolas shook his head.  
  
'No, you don't. I've caused you enough trouble already. You need not do anymore for me.'  
  
'Please, Legolas let us help.'  
  
'No. I am a skilled fighter and can fend for myself.'  
  
'Not in Rohan you can't, there's too much violence there these days. That's why we are here.'  
  
'I'll just leave now and you won't have to worry about me.'  
  
'But we'll feel guilty-'  
  
'Oh for crying out loud!' exclaimed Fallon who finally just stepped between them and shoved Legolas back down in a chair. 'Men can be so stubborn!'  
  
At that moment the children came back in from their chores. 'Perfect! Rye, I want you and Hanna to unpack all of Mr. Legolas's things and lay them out on the floor in the living room. Gabrielle, run and get me the shears from the tack shed.' the children obeyed quickly and went off to so more chores.  
  
Fallon then handed several buckets to Redd. 'Run and get some water, honey.' she said as she set a blanket over Legolas's front. Redd gave Legolas a perplexed look and he shrugged back.  
  
'Legolas, there's a couple things we're going to have to change if you want to look like a Rohan man, all right?'  
  
'You can make me look like a man?' he asked Fallon.  
  
'She thinks she can do anything, that woman.' murmured Redd as he pulled on his coat.  
  
'I heard that!' scolded Fallon. Redd made a mocking cringe and hurried out the door just as Gabrielle returned with the shears.  
  
'You ready?' she asked Legolas. Shutting his eyes tightly he replied:  
  
'Yes.' He could hear the shears working away. 


	3. Chapter 9

The song I used for this chapter was a desperate pick and I finally settled on Ryan Malcolm's (the Canadian Idol winner) single 'Something More'. Honestly, I couldn't find anything better.  
  
Also, I'm really sorry for this book being soo late! However, even authors need a Christmas holiday!  
  
Chapter 9  
  
When Fallon handed him a mirror, Legolas thought he was looking at a photo of some distant cousin or uncle. The first thing he noticed was his eyes. They looked so dark and mysterious. Fallon had spent at least an hour cutting his hair and giving him heavy bangs that shaded half his face. It hung down just above his shoulders now and hid his pointed ears very well. It wasn't flat like it normally was, but light and almost bushy.  
  
His cheeks didn't seem so clean either. The way his hair hung around his face made them look dark and dirty. He wore some of his garments that his father had given him which Rye, Hanna and Gabrielle has soiled drastically while his locks were cut. When he pulled up his hood his face was completely hidden in shadow. He smiled.  
  
'This is insane.' he said to Fallon. She blushed and grinned with pride. 'I look like a normal Rohan man!'  
  
'Don't be surprised if some of the maidens take a second look at you. You hardly look unattractive with shorter hair.' she gave him a little peck and a hug. Legolas stood and looked in the living room to see Rye sleeping in Redd's lap on a rocking chair. His eyes grew faraway as he thought about Elenest back home. He thought about how in a few months her belly would be swelled and her watching the Mirkwood gate, waiting for him.  
  
'Legolas?' asked Fallon in a quiet voice. Legolas focused his eyes on the floor and turned to Fallon.  
  
'I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me.' he said. 'I would be dead already if I had left when I wanted with what I had.' Fallon had told Legolas all she and Redd knew about Rohan. About the gangs that would search him and how to avoid them. How to cross North Undeep and take rest in the Wold where the criminal bands had already pillaged out their time. She told him not to fight them, since they fought dirty and never left a challenger alive.  
  
'It really wasn't much.' shrugged Fallon. 'We could be able to do more if you would only stay longer.' Legolas shook his head.  
  
'I'm a greater danger to you then you think. I must leave tonight.' he said. Fallon nodded sadly. Legolas looked to his feet in silence. Fallon walked past and followed Redd as he carried Rye to his bed. Legolas looked over his shoulder at them for a moment.  
  
He saw them as a family. Tighter then the concrete that held a wall together. With Fallon's arm around Redd's waist and Redd carrying the sleeping child.  
  
~I don't know how long I can stay away from home. I miss Elenest so much!~ he thought. He pulled forward a piece of paper and began to write on it.  
  
~I don't think that I can tell you what this means to me.~  
  
~But here I am, it's so hard to believe.~  
  
Legolas wrote: 'I can't describe in words how grateful I am that you saved my life and aided me in my flight.  
  
~That I'm standing here, that I've come this far.~  
  
~But you always said, have faith in who you are.~  
  
~'I want to take this time to thank you for the love you gave.'~  
  
~'And from this moment, you've got to know,'~  
  
~'I never wanted something more.'~  
  
~'And I never felt so sure,'~  
  
~'Cause now got this chance to be,'~  
  
~'Everything you saw in me, and even more.'~  
  
~'Then I ever dreamed before,'~  
  
~'As long as you are here with me,'~  
  
~'I know that I can be something more.'~  
  
Legolas found himself crying as he signed the note as Fermanir. He sniffed and wiped his face. He folded up the paper and addressed to the whole family. He stepped into the living room and picked up all his things that had been packed. He left a handful of the money his father had given him beside the note and walked outside.  
  
The ground was covered in a light blanket of soft wet snow. His feet didn't crunch down on it. The night sky was clear of any clouds and was decorated elegantly with the stars. He remembered when he had met Elenest on that snowy evening at the winter ball ten years ago. She looked so beautiful, with the big white flakes in her hair and her low dress that framed her arms and left her shoulders bare. He was so lost in his thoughts he nearly lost his way to the stable.  
  
~Looking back now, it's so clear to me,~  
  
~That you were sent to shape my destiny.~  
  
~Cause there were times that I was ready to walk away,~  
  
~But you gave me strength to face another day.~  
  
Legolas could remember there fight when he first found out she was pregnant. They had spent days apart, but they soon couldn't resist wanting to see each other.  
  
~'I want to take this time to thank you for the love you gave.'~  
  
~'And from this moment, you've got to know,'~  
  
~'I never wanted something more.'~  
  
~'And I never felt so sure,'~  
  
~'Cause now got this chance to be,'~  
  
~'Everything you saw in me, and even more.'~  
  
~'Then I ever dreamed before,'~  
  
~'As long as you are here with me,'~  
  
~'I know that I can be something more.'~  
  
Legolas smiled when he saw his horse again. The animal whinnied and nickered as he began to load her up. As he just had the saddle on her he paused. He had suddenly thought of a way he could thank Redd and his family for all they had done for him.  
  
~I'm reaching for the sky,~  
  
~Cause I can't let this chance go by.~  
  
~I've waited all my life for something more.~  
  
Soon Legolas had reached the top of the first hill he would come to. He paused for a moment and looked back at the house. A single light was in the kitchen window. Suddenly, he saw Redd and Fallon open the door, their eyes darting this way and that, searching for him. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he called to them.  
  
'Look in the stable!' he cried. They looked up at him. He shifted the strap of the chest on his shoulder and turned to descend down the hill.  
  
~And now's the time that your gonna see,~  
  
~From this moment, you're going to know,~  
  
~'I never wanted something more.'~  
  
~'And I never felt so sure,'~  
  
~'Cause now got this chance to be,'~  
  
~'Everything you saw in me, and even more.'~  
  
~'Then I ever dreamed before,'~  
  
~'As long as you are here with me,'~  
  
~'I know that I can be something more.'~  
  
Redd opened the door to the stable. A lantern was still lit and fell upon the form of Legolas's black steed still in it's stall.  
  
~You made me want to be something more!~  
  
Legolas descended the hill quickly, unable to look back at the people who picked him from his death and pulled back on his feet.  
  
~You make me want to be something more...~ 


End file.
